September 13, 2018
Two Yazidi Girls Return to Their Families
MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS
Iraq
Al-Sadr announces leadership agreement on a new, non-partisan Prime Minister. [..]
CoR temporary chairman sets Saturday meeting to elect the CoR Speaker. [..]
$10 million in Daesh cash reportedly found in rubble at Mosul University. [..]
Syria
Pentagon asks Egypt, Jordan, Gulf states to do more in Syria. [..]
SDF kills 41 Daesh fighters in Albu Kamal campaign. [..]
Yazidi girl freed in Syria says there are 11 more held by Daesh in Hajin, but some don’t intend to return. [..]
Syrian forces kill 20 Daesh fighters in Suwayda ambush. [..]
Other countries
Jordan: Jordan arrests 3 more members of Al-Balqa terrorist cell. [..]
REPORTS FROM IRAQ
NATIONAL NEWS
New government
On Thursday, Moqtada Al-Sadr said that senior Iraqi political leaders have agreed on an independent figure to lead the new Iraqi government. He said the person was selected without regard to party or sectarian divisions, but instead based on expertise, experience, and integrity. He noted that some politicians quickly rejected him, a response which Al-Sadr said would “lead Iraq back to square one; back to corruption in a new thobe” (traditional robe). [Anadolu]
Ali Zayni, the most senior MP in the CoR, and thus its temporary chairman, says that the CoR session on Saturday will select the Speaker of the CoR as the first step towards selecting the President and the Prime Minister. He says that the situation in Iraq, mainly in Basra, is too serious to wait any longer. [BasNews]
Anti-Daesh campaign
General Paul LaCamera assumed command of the Coalition from outgoing General Paul Funk in a ceremony in Baghdad on Thursday. In a speech, General Funk thanked the Iraqi partners of the Coalition and expressed his confidence that Daesh would be fully defeated. [InherentResolve]
Foreign policy
The Central Bank of Iraq says it is no longer subject to EU sanctions imposed during the former regime (i.e. under Saddam Hussein). Dealings between European financial institutions and the Central Bank are no longer banned. [Sumaria]
Other
The Gallup polling institution says that 2017 was the year with the most suffering in over a decade, based on an opinion poll of citizens from 145 countries. The country leading Gallup’s “negative experience index” was the Central Africa Republic, but it was followed by Iraq in second place. [BasNews]
BAGHDAD (No reports)
ANBAR
Falluja
A police source says that 2 men wanted on terrorism charges were arrested in the Nazal and Jubeil neighborhoods in Falluja. Weapons and fake IDs were also seized. [BasNews]
Daesh said it severely wounded a tribal PMF commander and destroyed his vehicle with a sticky IED on Kamaliyat Street in Falluja city, on Wednesday. [ICDNSep13]
Rutba
Daesh said it killed or wounded 13 Iraqi Army soldiers and destroyed 2 machine gun-mounted vehicles with several IEDs east of Rutba, on the road to Trebil, by the Jordan border, on Tuesday. [ICDNSep13]
SALAHUDDIN
Shirqat
A DaeshDaily source said on Thursday that PMF units shot down a small Daesh drone that was carrying a locally made explosive inside a soda can near Makhoul. The drone flew from the Makhoul Mountains area.
A DaeshDaily source said on Thursday that a civilian was killed when a roadside IED exploded on his vehicle north of Shirqat.
Tikrit
Daesh said it killed two SWAT members and destroyed their vehicle with an IED in the Al-Hamra area, north of Tikrit, on Monday. [A3maq]
Southern Salahuddin (Balad, Dujail)
A breaking news item says Daesh has assassinated an intelligence officer in Yathrib subdistrict, south of Balad. [Dijlah]
Daesh said on Thursday it killed an IFP Intelligence member in his house in the Bajili area, in Yathrib. [A3maq] [ICDNSep13]
Daesh said it killed two “spies,” from the IFP and PMF, in their respective houses in the Farahatiya area of Ishaqi subdistrict, on Tuesday. [A3maq] [ICDNSep13]
DIYALA
Baquba/Southeast Diyala
A security source in Diyala Province said on Thursday that a team from the Diyala police captured a Daesh operative referred to as the “emir of safehouses” after luring him to a restaurant near Baquba. [BaghdadToday]
Diyala Police Chief Faisal Al-Abadi said on Thursday that Daesh had attempted to infiltrate the city of Baquba via “sleeper cells,” but had been thwarted by the intelligence efforts of the Diyala Police. [Sumaria]
Central Diyala (Muqdadiya/Abu Saida)
A senior Iraqi military source said that an operation had begun on Thursday in Diyala Province to hunt down Daesh members in the villages of Al-Banan and Shouk Al-Reem. [Youm7]
Northern Diyala (Kifri, Khanaqin, Khalis north)
A DaeshDaily source said on Thursday that a PMF commander was killed when an IED exploded on his vehicle near his house in Khanaqin. The source said security situation in Khanaqin had deteriorated during the last week and several PMF members were assassinated.
KIRKUK
Southwest (Daquq, Rashad, Taza, etc.)
Kirkuk police say that Daesh fighters sneaked into a clinic in Daquq District and kidnapped an ambulance driver, and also stole medicine. [Sumaria]
In an apparently separate incident, a security source said on Thursday that Daesh had kidnapped 2 civilians from the village of Haftghar, Daquq District. [Mawazin]
NINEWA
Makhmur
A DaeshDaily source said on Thursday that two Military Intelligence Service EOD members were killed while trying to defuse a booby-trapped house in Tal Al-Sha’er village. The source said the house, which belonged to a PMF commander, was empty and had been booby-trapped by Daesh the night before.
Mosul city
An Arab newspaper wrote on Thursday that 10 million dollars had been found under the rubble of a building at the University of Mosul. Local and security sources were quoted as saying that Daesh had used that building as a headquarters for its “Islamic Police” and finance office. The money has reportedly been set aside. [Sumaria]
General Sa’ad Ma’an, Ministry of the Interior spokesman, says that emergency units of the Ninewa police arrested 6 Daesh operatives in the Al-Mithaq, Al-Qahira, and Tahrir neighborhoods in west Mosul, and Al-Muthanna in east Mosul. [Baghdadia] [BaghdadPost]
Western Ninewa
Tal Afar
A DaeshDaily source said on Thursday that Iraqi Army 15th division and local police units captured a suicide terrorist and confiscated his vehicle bomb near Owainat village, in Rabia subdistrict in northern Tal Afar. The source said people of the village had killed 3 Daesh suicide terrorists last month. The source sent us photos of the vehicle bomb.
The Center for Security Information says that the 15th Army Division engineering team defused a car bomb in Owainat. The car contained 7 explosive belts and 5 IEDs. [Ghad]
Southern Ninewa
Hatra
A DaeshDaily source said on Thursday that the Iraqi Army 9th division captured 2 men near Khunaifis village who were smuggling weapons and food items to Daesh terrorists in the nearby desert. The source sent us photos of the 2 men.
KURDISTAN NEWS
ERBIL
Masoud Barzani, leader of the KDP, met in Erbil on Thursday with the US Envoy to the Coalition, Brett McGurk, as well as US Ambassador Douglas Silliman. They reportedly discussed the latest efforts to form the Iraqi government, and the upcoming CoR session on Saturday. [Forat]
DaeshDaily comment. These two high-level officials did not fly to Erbil just to have a general discussion of current political trends. What did they really talk about? McGurk is spending so much time in Iraq lately that he must qualify to be an official resident.
REPORTS FROM TURKEY
Military & security developments
Turkish units killed 3 PKK fighters in Bingol, southeastern Turkey. [Anadolu]
REPORTS FROM SYRIA
NATIONAL NEWS
United Nations
A senior UN Official sent the coordinates for about 235 protected sites in Idlib Province to Russia, Turkey and the US-led Coalition, in an effort to protect them from the anticipated attack on Idlib. Panos Moumtzis, UN Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria crisis, reported that a high-ranking Russian official stated that every effort was being made to arrive at a peaceful solution. [Qasioun]
DaeshDaily comment. See comment below.
Russia
Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, says that Russia is ready to discuss a compromise between the Astana formula and the so-called “minimized international group” (a smaller subset of the countries that participated in the Vienna talks) to support Syria based on international law, respecting Syrian unity and independence. [Qasioun]
DaeshDaily comment. The Russians will be supportive of any formula that leaves Assad in power. Beyond that, they will be as flexible as necessary and the diplomatic malarkey will be adjusted as necessary.
Foreign policy
United States
The Pentagon asked that the Gulf countries, Egypt, and Jordan play a bigger role in Syria, in a meeting of the armed forces Chiefs of Staff for these countries. [Dorar]
Anti-Daesh campaign
Deputy Commander of the Coalition, Major General Felix Gedney, says that Daesh is still a threat to Syria, Iraq, and the UK. Speaking to the UK Independent, Gedney says that the whereabouts of Al-Baghdadi are unknown. He says that Daesh is turning into something like a rebel group that utilizes hit-and-run tactics. He said that there were still hundreds of Daesh fighters, but he did not know the number of Britons among them. [Sumaria]
Northwest (No reports)
Northeast
Hasaka
A minibus exploded in southern Tal Hamis, Qamishli District, killing the driver and wounding 2 children. [Hawar]
A DaeshDaily source said on Thursday that the SDF freed Inas Rasho, a Yazidi girl that was taken by an Iraqi Daesh family in Al-Hawl Camp. The source says the family, originally from Baaj, had escaped to Dashisha but the girl was then kept in the camp for 4 years. The source said the SDF arrested the family and handed over the girl to the Kurdish Asayesh, who returned the girl to her family in Sinjar.
Raqqa
Raqqa city & district
Daesh said it killed three SDF members with an IED near Al-Haws village, in Karama subdistrict east of Raqqa city, on Wednesday. [A3maq]
Another Daesh media source said the IED was planted in a parked motorcycle. [ICDNSep13]
Central and West
Hama
A Syrian opposition group says it badly wounded General Hussein Khasara of the Syrian Army, using an IED, in Salamiyah District in eastern Hama. [Dorar]
Homs
The front between Daesh and the Syrian Army is now extending from Deir Ez-Zor and Homs to Al-Tanaf, near the border with Iraq and Jordan. The SOHR says that Syrian government forces are making advances. [SyriaHR]
DaeshDaily reports. We have no reports of large concentrations of Daesh fighters in this elongated stretch of territory. This may indicate that Daesh in Syria is already doing what it has done in Iraq—moving into the desert and fighting in small units with hit and run tactics—but the Syrian military has fewer assets deployable to counter these tactics than Iraq does, and unlike Iraq it does not have the world-class Coalition air support.
East (Deir Ez-Zor)
Deir Ez-Zor District
Daesh said on Thursday it killed seven SDF members and destroyed their vehicle in an ambush near Al-Azraq Oilfield, north of Deir Ez-Zor. [ICDNSep13]
Albu Kamal District
The SDF says it has killed 41 Daesh fighters in the past 2 days in Deir Ez-Zor Province, and that 6 SDF fighters had been killed in the same period. The SDF said in a statement that the Coalition had also been carrying out airstrikes on Daesh locations, and that fighting was ongoing. [BasNews]
The SDF media office reported on Thursday that the battle against Daesh in Al-Baghouz had so far resulted in taking 3 square kilometers of land and killing 23 Daesh fighters. [Hawar]
The SOHR reported continued SDF/Coalition operations against Daesh in Al-Baghouz and Hajin, including heavy air and artillery shelling. [SyriaHR]
A DaeshDaily source said on Thursday that the SDF freed Fayrouz Hazem, a Yazidi girl who had been captured by Daesh, after getting information from families that were escaping Hajin. The source said the girl informed the SDF that there are more than 11 Yazidi girls held captive by Daesh in Hajin. Some of them have children and don’t intend to return to their families in Iraq.
Daesh published on Thursday photos of “the agriculture” in the Albu Kamal area. [ICDNSep13]
DaeshDaily comment. Photos of a couple of terrorists and some eggplants is all that Daesh’s agricultural activities are about these days.
Daesh published on Thursday photos of targeting SDF position north of Baghouz Foqani village with mortars. [ICDNSep13]
Pro-Daesh media says that dozens of pro-government militia fighters were killed and wounded in battles with Daesh in Hamimiya and the “T2” pumping station. [Qasioun]
South
Daraa/Quneitra
On Thursday morning, the Syrian Army violated an agreement (which had been ratified in Daraa with Russian approval) and raided homes and arrested 3 people in Daraa. 2 of them were former members of the Free Syrian Army and one of them was the former leader of the local council of Daraa. It is unknown where they were taken. [Dorar]
Suwayda
A DaeshDaily source said on Thursday that government forces ambushed a convoy of Daesh fighters near Al-Safa Hills, east of Suwayda, killing 20 fighters, including an Iraqi commander, and destroying 3 SUVs.
Battles between Daesh and the Syrian Army are continuing on the border between Rif Damashq and Suwayda, mainly in the Tilul Al-Safa (Al-Safa Hills) area. Daesh is still holding over 30 women and children as hostages. [SyriaHR]
OTHER MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA REPORTS
Neighboring countries
Jordan
On Thursday, the Jordanian General Intelligence Directorate announced the identities of 3 members of the Al-Balqa terror cell: Ahmad Al-Nusur, Ahmad Odeh, and Diaa Al-Fuwair. They were arrested last month during an armed confrontation with Jordanian security after they bombed a security patrol in the city of Al-Fuheis near Salt in Al-Balqa Governorate. The detainees confessed that they had been planning to attack Al-Balqa intelligence and district services, and a video of their confession was broadcast on state television. The events in Al-Balqa Governorate in August resulted in killing 9 civilians and injuring dozens of others, and the arrest of “many” members of the terrorist cell, who had been accused of being involved in another deadly bombing earlier in August. [Anadolu] [Khaleej]
Saudi Arabia/Yemen
Daesh said on Thursday it stopped a Houthi attack on the Za’aj area, in Walad Rabi’a’ district, northwest of Baidha, killing or wounding several fighters and forcing the rest to flee. [ICDNSep13] [A3maq]
North Africa
Egypt
Daesh said it killed an Egyptian Army member, wounded three others, and destroyed their military vehicle with a rocket west of Rafah, on Wednesday. [ICDNSep13]
REPORTS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES
UNITED STATES
Republicans in the US Senate are proposing sanctions against pro-Iran military groups related to the Revolutionary Guards. The sanctions are related to Iran-funded terrorism. [Sumaria]
EUROPE
Ukraine
Ukrainian border guards say that they arrested a Tajik citizen believed to be a Daesh member in Boryspil Airport in Kiev. The arrestee was named in the database of the Tajik police as a terrorism suspect. [Ghad] [FaceIraq]
DAESH MEDIA
A social media account linked to Daesh issued a message to Daesh’s “lone wolves” in Coalition countries. It said that Daesh’s operatives have tried several types of attacks, but the best way to hurt those countries is to conduct attacks that look accidental and don’t bring attention. The account suggested to Daesh’s operatives to set woods, upper stories of residential towers, commercial compounds, and factories on fire, and to sabotage rail tracks to divert trains. It said such attacks could be repeated from time to time to cause more economic losses. [ICDNSep13]
DaeshDaily comment. Daesh usually tries to conduct attacks that bring more media attention to itself. This suggested tactic will give Daesh the opportunity to claim any fire anywhere without so much effort.
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